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Good practice Imported

Bulgaria's Agri-Environment-Climate Scheme & Eco-Schemes — CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027

Bulgaria · Sofia · See the Bulgaria profile · See the Sofia profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 81% 33/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Bulgaria's CAP Strategic Plan pays farmers €1.03bn in eco-schemes and €558M for climate/environment rural-development measures (2023-2027), but monitoring finds Natura 2000 grassland support has shrunk sharply and per-hectare rates vary by land type for identical work.

7.73 € billion
Total public funding (2023-2027)
1.03 € billion (25% of direct payments)
Eco-scheme funding (2023-2027)
558.2 € million (40% of rural-development funding)
Environment/climate rural-development funding (2023-2027)
1,679,400 ha
Pesticide-reduction eco-scheme area (2023-2027)
60,000 ha (5.34% of network)
Natura 2000 area targeted for support (2023-2027)
407,255 ha
Natura 2000 area supported previously (2020)
1.36 % of utilised agricultural area
Biodiversity-conservation commitment coverage (2023-2027)
591 €/ha
Tree-clearance payment rate (arable)
283 €/ha
Tree-clearance payment rate (grassland)
901 €/ha
Tree-clearance payment rate (permanent crops)
Bulgaria's Agri-Environment-Climate Scheme & Eco-Schemes — CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria
Period
2023-2027 (approved December 2022, amended through February 2026)
Region (NUTS)
BG41
Keywords
agri-environment-climate, eco-schemes, grassland conservation, Natura 2000, organic farming, CAP Strategic Plan

Context

Bulgaria's CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027, approved by the European Commission in December 2022 and amended four times through February 2026, is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and channels €7.73 billion in public funding. It introduces Article 31 eco-schemes alongside agri-environment-climate measures for organic farming and traditional grazing in Natura 2000 areas.

Results

€1.03 billion (25% of direct payments) is allocated to eco-schemes and €558.2 million (40% of rural-development funding) to environmental/climate objectives; the pesticide-reduction eco-scheme targets about 1,679,400 ha (roughly a third of Bulgaria's farmland) and irrigation investment aims for up to 60% water-use reduction in poor-status water bodies. Independent analysis by ARC2020 finds only 5.34% of Bulgaria's Natura 2000 network (60,000 ha) is targeted for support, down from 407,255 ha actually supported in 2020, and documents inconsistent per-hectare payment rates for the same tree-clearance activity across land types (€591/ha arable vs €283/ha grassland vs €901/ha permanent crops).

Conclusions

ARC2020 characterises the plan as a step backwards for nature and biodiversity relative to the 2014-2020 period, driven by narrower Natura 2000 targeting and incentive structures that favour arable land over grassland and biodiversity-rich habitats.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Very high (> €5M) — €7.73bn total (€5.64bn EU + €2.09bn national) over the 2023-2027 period; €1.03bn to eco-schemes and €558.2M to environment/climate rural-development measures.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — CAP Strategic Plan approved December 2022, amended four times through February 2026, running the 2023-2027 programming period.
Staffing & skills
Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria is the national managing authority

Conditions for success

  • European Commission approval and structured multi-year CAP programming provide a stable funding and legal framework
  • Consistent per-hectare incentive rates across land types would be needed to avoid distorting land-use choices away from grassland and biodiversity-rich habitats

Common failure modes

  • Independent monitoring (ARC2020) finds Natura 2000 support area cut from 407,255 ha (2020) to a 60,000 ha target, a documented decline rather than improvement
  • Inconsistent per-hectare payment rates for identical activities across land types (arable vs grassland vs permanent crops) are argued to distort incentives away from grassland and biodiversity-rich habitats
  • Grassland eco-scheme targets only 27% of eligible grassland versus 114% of arable land

Where it fits

Governance type
national government CAP Strategic Plan (EU co-financed)
Scale
national
Income level
EU member state

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes LIFE Programme

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Data sources

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